Most hospital visits over in four hours

More than 6.5m people were treated in emergency departments in the past year, new figures show.Source: AAP

ALMOST two in three people who went to a hospital emergency department in 2011/12 were either discharged or admitted to hospital within four hours, the target treatment time set under national health reforms.

As part of the health reforms states and territories agreed that by the end of 2015, 90 per cent of patients would complete their emergency department visits with four hours.

Figures contained in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report on emergency department care, released on Friday, show that 64 per cent of the more than 6.5 million people who turned up at public hospital emergency departments over 2011/12 were treated within the four-hour target time.

However treatment times varied considerably between jurisdictions, ranging from 58 per cent in the ACT to 79 per cent in Western Australia, the report shows.

Nationwide, 90 per cent of people left the emergency department within eight-and-a-half hours.

The proportion of people seen on time in emergency departments improved from 69 per cent in 2007/08 to 72 per cent in the past year.

Half of all patients were seen within 21 minutes and 90 per cent were treated within 108 minutes.

South Australia made the biggest improvements in waiting times, with half the patients in that state seen within 15 minutes and 76 per cent seen on time.

In NSW, 76 per cent of patients also were seen on time, the same rate as five years ago.

The ACT and Northern Territory were the worst performers, with just over half of all patients being seen on time, but both have improved from five years ago.

The NT's performance worsened from 2010/11.

The waiting times for treatment of 90 per cent of patients ranged from 90 minutes in SA to 187 minutes in ACT.

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